Cleaning swab for toilet bowls and the like



Aug. 1l, 1953 D F, RODGERS 2,648,085

CLEANING SWAB FOR TOILET BOWLS AND THE LIKE Filed May 2. 1950 FIG.| FIG.2

ATfoRNEYs Patented Aug. 11, 1953 ,GLEANINGL'SWABFOR TOILET BUWLS* ANDTHE Dorothy F. Rodgers, New York, N. Y., assignor, by incsne'vassignments, to Personal Products Corporatiom-North Brunswick Township,N. Ji, a; corporation oflNew J ersey' Application Mayi, 1950, .SerialNo, 159,503;l

2 Claims;

I This invention relatesv to a cleaning swab` for" use in cleaningtoilet bowls; and the like, andf'particularly to; an improved disposableswab pad,

which byreason of itsvcomposition and structural: fern-ris 'simple' andveconomical to manufact-ure'-in'l quantity production.

The device ofv the present invention is an improvement onthe cleaningdevice and swab pad of my priorPatent No; 2,40235'77, in that thestructural formant my limproved. .disposable swab pad enablesit to bemanufacturedmore simply. and economically than the swab pad of my` priorpatent.4

I-nvaccordance with a preferredembodiment' of the invention, thedisposableswab padl is made of'` water disintegratablecellulosicmaterial, such as paper or paper pulp, more or less compacted;of substantial thickness, andofi'-circular, oblong, or other 'flatshape. integralLstud-like generally cylindrical projecting portion isformed. A cavity is formed within the pad body opening on the flat sideopposite that from which the stud-like portion projects.

For holding and manipulating the swab pad in the cleaning operation,there is provided a handle of plastic, wood, or other suitable material,which may be wholly or partially hollow. At one end thereof, internallyarranged flat springs 9 in association with the internal surface of thehollow cylinder construction provide means for engaging and closelysurrounding the stud-like projecting portion of the pad. By reason ofthe gripping action of the springs and the respective cooperationbetween the stud-like portion of the pad with the inside surface of thehollow handle, pad and handle are maintained in interconnection for thecleaning operation. But the arrangement is such as to permit readydisassociation of handle and pad upon completion of the cleaningoperation without the necessity of handling the pad.

It will be understood that because of the composition structure andimpregnation of the pad, per se, it will retain its shape for asufficient length of time to permit of the cleaning operation to beperformed, whereupon the action of the Water producing sufficientwetting, will reduce the pad to a state of deterioration anddisintegration, so that after disassociaton from the handle it may beflushed down the toilet bowl.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the handle and disposable swab padelements of the improved device of my invention, disassociated;

On-` onedlat side thereof anA 2 Fig. 2 is*r a top view :of the improveddisposable swab pad of circular form;

Fig. 3 .shows a. plurality of the disposableswab. padsof Figs. 1 and `2,stacked in nested-.contact relation, the entirel stud-like. portionsofthe` under adjacent pads being within. ther cavitiesy ofi adjacentpads; and

Fig. 4' is a top. view: of al1-.alternative formv ofl cavity 5 is formedwithinthe body portionv 2 opening asshown at 6, .at theunder side. 1.

The conguration and depth of.l the cavity Slis selected and adapted topermit the ready ,entrance-y of van` entire stud-likeportion 3.-. of.alike-pad,- .and

to permit the compact packagingof axplurality of such pads inl nestedandstacked. contactrela.-n tion as shown-in Fig. 3-.y n

The disposable swab pad I may be made of paper or partially compactedcellulosic material and may be impregnated with some suitablewater-soluble material to maintain the swab pad sufficiently rigid inits shaped form.

The stud-like projecting portion 3 and the cavity 5 may be formed on andin the body portion 2 by pressing, molding, or casting, and thestud-like portion 3 may be treated or coated on its outer surface with amore dii'licultly watersoluble material to render it more rigid forinterconnection with the handle 8.

The cellulosic material of which the swab pad I is made should have arelatively low resistance to wetting and should Abe readilydisintegratable upon relatively prolonged contact with water. Materialof this character is Well known and readily available.

The disintegratability of the cellulosic material upon prolonged contactwith water, together with the water solubility of the impregnatingmaterial described renders the swab pad I readily disposable after acleaning operation as by flushing down a toilet bowl. The morediflicultly Watersoluble impregnating material employed for the coatingand formation of the stud-like projecting portion 3 renders the samemore rigid and tends to prolong the disintegration time of the stud fora time sufficient to enable a cleaning operation to be carried outbefore disassociating the swab pad I from the handle 8.

The oblong shaped swab pad I0, of Fig. 4, like the swab pad I of Fig. 1,has a stud-like portion 3 and a cavity 5, and like pads of Fig. 1, maybe stacked in nested contact relation and packaged.

but in a box or carton of corresponding oblong shape.

To interconnect the swab pad of Fig. 1, or Fig. 4, with the handle 8, itis only necessary to apply the open end of the handle over theprojecting portion l and press the handle down upon the swab pad. Toremove the handle 8 and disassociate it from the swab pad, the pad maybe positioned and held at the edge of the toilet bowl, whereupon thehandle may be withdrawn without the necessity of handling the pad. Thepad may then be flushed down the toilet.

I claim:

1. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls and the like comprising thecombination of a disposable cleaning swab pad formed of waterdisintegratable material and a readily dissociable handle, saiddisposable swab pad having a at body portion of substantial thickness,an integral studlike projecting portion disposed at one flat side ofsaid body portion adapted to provide holding and connecting means forsaid handle, the body portion of said swab portion having a cavityformed therein at the other flat side thereof opposite said stud-likeprojection, the coniiguration and depth of said cavity being adapted topermit the ready entrance of the stud-like projecting portion of anotherlike pad with the sides of adjacent pads in contact relation, and saidhandle having engaging means at one end thereof adapted to closelysurround and hold the stud-like portion of said swab pad ininterconnection with Said handle during a cleaning operation, andpermitting ready disassociation upon completion of a cleaning operationwithout necessity of handling the swab pad, and said engaging end of thehandle being so formed as to shield said stud-like portion againstexcessive wetting during a cleaning operation and thereby avoidpremature disintegration thereof.

2. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls and the like comprising a, circulardisk-like swab pad of water disintegratable material, said swab padhaving an integral cylindrical stud-like projecting portion disposed atone flat side of said body portion adapted to provide holding means,said body portion having a cavity formed therein at the other flat sidethereof opposite said studlike holding means, the conguration and depthof said cavity being adapted to permit the ready entrance of thestud-like projecting portion of another like pad with the sides ofadjacent pads in contact relation. said cavity facilitating wetting anddisintegration of the pad, and a hollow cylindrical handle having springengaging means at one end thereof and adapted to closely surround andhold the stud-like portion of said pad and handle in interconnection forthe cleaning operation, and ready disassociation upon completion of thecleaning operation without the necessity of handling the pad, saidengaging end of the handle being so constructed as to shield the saidstud-like projecting portion against excessive wetting during a cleaningoperation thereby avoiding premature disintegration thereof.

DOROTHY F. RODGERS.

References Cited in the ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,897,365 Duey Feb. 14, 1933 2,261,058 Forbis Oct. 28, 19412,271,861 Harris Feb. 3, 1942 2,402,577 Rodgers June 25, 1946 2,488,611Stallings Nov. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 832,243France June 27, 1938

